"Sturgeon Queens" Film Celebrates 100 Years of Russ and Daughters Appetizing Store

100 years. Four generations. 1,800,000 pounds of pickled herring.

One hundred years ago an appetizing store called Russ and Daughters opened on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Since 1914, four generations of the Russ family have worked behind the counter to help transform the fish store "from pushcart to posh."

Filmmaker Julie Cohen will soon premiere Sturgeon Queens, a long-in-the-works documentary about the store. The film chronicles the history of the shop through interviews with several generations of the Russ family, plus a mix of loyal regulars and celebrity customers like Mario Batali, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

The release is well-timed to coincide with the shop's 100th birthday this year, but also catches it at a moment of significant expansion. In discussing those plans for a Russ & Daughters Cafe, fourth generation owner Niki Russ Federman says, "Most restaurants don't even last past the first year. That can't even be an option for us." 

The film will be screened a few times at Jewish Film Festivals in the coming months, including on May 20 at the JCC CineMatters festival on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Until then, you can check out a preview below or catch it on PBS when it airs in the fall. 

Enjoy!

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